Former Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares has said that Elon Musk-led EV maker Tesla may face a steep challenge in the coming 10 years. Tavares told French newspaper Les Echos that Tesla is facing growing pressure from China’s BYD which, according to a Fortune report, overtook it in global EV sales earlier this year.
“We can’t rule out that at some point, he’ll decide to leave the automotive industry to refocus on humanoid robots, SpaceX, or artificial intelligence,” Tavares said, adding “Elon Musk will have left the automotive industry”.
Tavares pointed out that Musk’s focus is split between several companies, such as SpaceX and his AI ventures. He attributed BYD’s success to the company’s efficiency and cost-effective vehicles.
“Tesla’s stock market value loss will be colossal because this valuation is simply stratospheric,” he said. “I’m not sure that Tesla will still exist in 10 years. It’s an innovative group, but they’ll be beaten by BYD’s efficiency.”
Tesla announced its third-quarter earnings recently, posting revenue of $28.1 billion — a 12per cent increase compared to last year. The growth was driven by a 33per cent rise in deliveries from China, its second-biggest market after the US Despite the growth, Tesla’s market share in China has fallen sharply to around 5per cent, down from 16per cent in 2020, as competition from local automakers such as BYD, Nio, and XPeng intensifies.
Industry analysts say the drop highlights Tesla’s struggle to maintain dominance in the world’s largest EV market, where domestic brands are rapidly expanding with cheaper models and advanced technology.
In another news, Tesla has proposed Elon Musk a 10-year pay package worth $1 trillion, tied to big goals like raising the company’s market value by 500per cent to $8.5 trillion. Earlier, Tesla board chair Robyn Denholm defended the proposal, saying, “If you prefer that Tesla turn into just another car company mired in the ways of the past, then you should follow ISS and Glass Lewis”.
